1. Technical Field
The present application relates to accessories for stringed instruments and more specifically, for guitars.
2. Related Art
Guitarists enjoy a love/hate relationship with their picks—they love the feeling they get when playing with that perfect pick but hate the fact they are often losing their grip on it. When that pick does get away, the force applied by the tension of the strings can cause the pick to fly in chaotic fashion. The problem is even worse for acoustic guitar players, as the string tension and action of an acoustic guitar is typically high. As a result, runaway picks often fly directly into the soundhole of the guitar. Once inside, the picks can get stuck on the geometry inside the guitar cavity and can be difficult to retrieve. During live performances, this problem can literally be show stopping if another pick is not at the ready, and the runaway pick can still clank around inside the guitar, distracting the guitarist and/or creating inadvertent noise.
Currently, there are devices that fit within a soundhole of an instruments that may block some or all of the soundhole. For example, suppressor devices are designed to alter the sound emanating from the soundhole. Guitarists often place one or more pickups in or about the soundhole of an acoustic instrument. A pickup is a transducer that captures mechanical vibrations from stringed instruments and converts them to an electrical signal that can be amplified, recorded, or the like. Because the sound waves emanating from the soundhole may also be “picked up” by the pickup, feedback can occur. To reduce or eliminate feedback, the guitarist may use a suppressor device to suppress the sound emanating from the soundhole. The suppressor devices are usually made of thick rubber, and while they may also help to prevent items from falling into the soundhole, the sound altering properties of these products are not always desirable.
In another example, decorative soundhole covers are available for concealing speakers and electronic controls contained with the cavity of a guitar. However, these products require an elaborate installation process and many guitarist do not need or want the electronics products these covers are meant to conceal.
Accordingly, a need has long existed for an improved guitar accessory item.